Volkswagen Polo

With 59 0ut of the top automotive journalists voting, the Volkswagen Polo has been named as the World Car of the Year 2010 after receiving 29 nominees. The World Car of the Year Awards were held at the New York Auto Show and the Polo was chosen on merit,value, safety, environmental impact, significance and emotional appeal.

Worldwide more than 230,000 customers have placed orders for the newest version of Volkswagen’s popular compact car. In a separate award, the BlueMotion product brand, consisting of the Golf Passat and Polo, was also declared the 2010 World Green Car award, beating the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius.

BlueMotion models

The jurors commented,”It is not necessary to add an electric motor and a heavy battery pack to achieve class-leading efficiency. Based on Volkswagen’s common rail diesel engines, the BlueMotion models are among the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market. In fact, the Passat BlueMotion can travel just about 1,000 miles on one tank of fuel in the European cycle”. If you are looking for the most fuel-efficient vehicles, the Super Shopper can sort your Volkswagen contract hire rentals by combined mpg so that you can choose the best model for you.

Toyota Prius

The Toyota Prius recorded sales of 538 units in February and this has more than doubled the previous best for the month which was 237. This is further proof that UK motorists have faith in Toyota quality and reliability and in the Hybrid Synergy Drive system.

The Toyota Prius has been ranked highest in customer satisfaction surveys across the world and is shortlisted for the World Car of the Year 2010. More than 1.6 million cars have been sold since the first generation was launched in 1997 and Toyota car leasing prices are available now.

VOSA

With all the recent press around Toyota recalls for the Prius, it is quite easy to check whether your vehicle is subject to a manufacturer recall via the VOSA website.

A new Car Recall Useful Information page has also been updated onto the site today to help site visitors understand the process and how to report a safety defect on their vehicle or to check if there is an outstanding issue on their car.

Toyota Prius

Toyota has announced today that they are recalling the latest, third-generation Prius built before 27th January 2010, which will involve about 8,500 cars in the UK. To date no accidents have been linked to this braking issue and no other Toyota or Lexus models are affected.

The recall is happening due to reports of inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady braking or slick road surfaces when the ABS anti-lock braking system is activated. The repair procedure will be undertaken at your local Toyota dealer and the software setting change should take no longer than 40 minutes. Toyota will be writing to all customers shortly.

Toyota maintains the cars are safe to drive however if you drive a third-generation Prius  and you are concerned then call the Toyota Customer Relations department on 0800 1388 744.

Toyota GB PLC has confirmed that there have been no reported problems in the UK or Europe ,with respect to the braking performance of the current, third generation, Prius. This follows on from the accelerator pedal recall that has recently been reported by Toyota.

Dealers in the USA and Japan however have reported that they have received complaints from customers related to the brakes, but there have been no accidents or injuries related to this issue. Toyota has made a change to the software (related to the ABS braking system) for 2010 production models and is now investigating whether to implement this software change for previous models.

Miguel Fonseca, Managing Director Toyota GB, said,”We can assure Prius owners that no safety issue has been identifed with the braking system fitted to their cars, and that no problems have been reported by customers in the UK or Europe. With safety as our main concern, Toyota will continue to investigate throughly any problems that are reported”. On the BBC this morning, Mr Fonseca said that the issue was with the tuning of the ABS system when driving on icy or very bumpy roads.

Euro NCAP has released data on its top five safest cars in 2009, based on their maximum five star rating and their overall score. The Volkswagen Golf VI was top of the list.

The top 5 cars are as follows;

1. Volkswagen Golf VI
2. Honda Insight
3. Toyota Prius
4. Hyundai i20
5. Toyota Avensis/Volvo XC60/Vauxhall Astra (Opel)

Euro NCAP has also published a full list of results in an easily printable table of all the cars they have tested and upgraded in 2009.  Car leasing prices on all these models are also available now.

Ford Focus

The Ford Focus has been voted the “car of the decade” according to a poll by Auto Trader.

The top five “cars of the decade” according to Auto Trader are as follows

1) Ford Focus

2) Ford Fiesta

3) BMW 3 Series

4) Ford Mondeo

5) Vauxhall Astra

Sat-nav topped the list of extras, the “most value car” was the Fiat Panda, most “green car” was the Toyota Prius and “Best Motoring Personality” was Jeremy Clarkson.

Toyota Prius

One of the UK’s leading distributors of abrasive discs and accessories, Abracs Abrasives and Accessories of York, has chosen the latest Toyota Prius five-door hatchbacks for its sales managers.

Managing Director, David Elcock said,”As a business-owner and a family man, it’s great to be able to finally find a car like the Toyota Prius. It means we can do our bit to bring down our carbon emissions, but also gives our sales managers a car that really does the business”.

The Toyota Prius T4′s emit less than 100g/km CO2 and offers 72.4mpg on the combined fuel cycle. Standard equipment includes air-conditioning, seven airbags, full Smart Entry & Start, rain sensing wipers, cruise control, CD player with eight speakers, Bluetooth, Head Up display, electric windows all round, alloy wheels and front fog lamps to name just a few. Toyota car leasing prices on the new Prius are available now.

Euro NCAP

Euro NCAP is the organisation that assesses the safety of new cars and they have just released some new data on eight current vehicles after recently assessing them.

Seven cars in the line-up received Euro NCAP’s top 5-star award with one car, the Citroen C3 receiving a four star overall award.

Euro NCAP awards an overall rating based on a combination of a series of tests, the description of which can be found on their website at http://www.euroncap.com/home.aspx

Here are the results

Honda Insight Hybrid

Honda has reported strong demand for the Honda Insight, outselling other competitors in the hybrid car market in April. The new Insight went on sale on the 4th April and already 229 Insights have been sold in the UK, ahead of the Toyota Prius (198 units). Honda has said that together with the Civic Hybrid that totals 308 units they have sold in April.

John Kingston, Honda (UK)’s Environment and Government Affairs Manager said ” The Insight is proving a hit with cost-savvy consumers looking for a cleaner car that’s more affordable”. The Insight is exempt from the London congestion charge due its green credentials and offers a good option for a Company car driver due to its low benefit in kind tax. Honda contract hire rentals on the Insight and the Toyota Prius can be compared easily off the contract hire car leasing shopper